MEOW#163 First Impressions

A weekly meta crossword on the forum started by member Josh (aka madhatter5). These puzzles are often very creative with solving mechanisms out of the norm and skewing towards the more challenging. Puzzles are posted every Wednesday, and the solution appears the following Tuesday.
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DrTom
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MEOW#163 First Impressions

#1

Post by DrTom »

First Impression Banner 2.jpg
It is always important to make a good first impression. That initial encounter can leave people with a lasting opinion of you (or of a perfectly delightful puzzle!).

Hopefully, that is exactly what this little MEOW does. I am going to go out on a limb and ascribe KITTEN/CALICO status to it because my tester (@whimsy) had no trouble with it and even had me toughen it up a bit.

There will Friday nudges of course and the reveal will be posted on the 16th.


First Impressions
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NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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benchen71
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#2

Post by benchen71 »

Cat's out! Thanks for a fun puzzle, @DrTom!
Check out "The MOAT MEOW Mashup Pack" here. US$10 for 14 metas that don't always abide by the "rules" of the game: asymmetry, 2-letter words, uncrossed letters, who knows. And this time there's a mega-meta! :shock:
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Cinny
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#3

Post by Cinny »

Cat jumped right out of the bag this morning. 🐈 Thanks for a fun one, Dr Tom!
Cindy Heisler
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schmidzy
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#4

Post by schmidzy »

Cat's out and looking for a sunbeam to bask in on this cold, grey day. Stay warm, everyone!
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DrTom
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#5

Post by DrTom »

Whoops - correction to one clue.

4A should be "present participle" not past, this is why I chose health care over English Lit and always had an editor for any article I wrote. This tense bit of information was presently passed onto me by @Meg and @hoover both of whom (God I hope I got that right) I thank heartily. It has no effect on the meta except to make one clue hard to answer.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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boharr
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#6

Post by boharr »

The cat was baffled for a bit but was shown the light. Thanks, DrTom.
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woozy
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#7

Post by woozy »

Cat is hiding in a bag in the corner of the room and trying to distract me by three lumpy green lumpy cushions and pointing out that it's odd there is such a common pattern. I point out that the pattern isn't consistent or evenly applied. The cat says tries to point out there are three spots on two rugs and a bookcase where the dog has peed-- that's something isn't it. I tell the cat he is not being helpful.
Last edited by woozy on Wed Jan 10, 2024 12:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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hcbirker
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#8

Post by hcbirker »

Cat's out! Thanks Dr. Tom!
Heidi
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lbray53
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#9

Post by lbray53 »

Cat is out of the bag! Fun. The first thing I tried worked. Possibly for the first time ever!
My avatar proves that it is sometimes better to be lucky than good!
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DrTom
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#10

Post by DrTom »

lbray53 wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2024 1:03 pm Cat is out of the bag! Fun. The first thing I tried worked. Possibly for the first time ever!
No doubt because it was your first impression!!!

Thanks for the solve and for the many times you have helped me discard MY first impression for the correct one.
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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MarkWoychick
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#11

Post by MarkWoychick »

Cat's out of the bag - thanks, Dr. Tom!
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 contest-style (meta) crosswords that we've created to help raise money for cancer-related organizations - get the bundle at http://crosswordsforcancer.com
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CPJohnson
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#12

Post by CPJohnson »

Thanks, @DrTom! Cat escaped after I studied the grid for a while.
Cynthia
MatthewL
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#13

Post by MatthewL »

Cat's been debagged. Thanks for the puzzle, Tom!
Matthew
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KayW
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#14

Post by KayW »

:crossed_swords: :rabbit: :cat: Cat's out. Thanks for a fun one!
Contest Crosswords Combating Cancer (CCCC) is a bundle of 16 metapuzzles created to help raise money for cancer-related charities. It is available at CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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Meg
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#15

Post by Meg »

The cat is out of the bag. Thanks, Dr. T!
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
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ChrisKochmanski
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#16

Post by ChrisKochmanski »

Cat out!

With a nudge.

Thanks, Doc!
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DrTom
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#17

Post by DrTom »

Meg wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2024 4:48 pm The cat is out of the bag. Thanks, Dr. T!
and now is seeking refreshment:
Cat and Cabana.jpg
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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DrTom
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#18

Post by DrTom »

CPJohnson wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2024 3:57 pm Thanks, @DrTom! Cat escaped after I studied the grid for a while.
Looks like you might have had help? We will still count it as a solo solve though.
cat and crossword.jpg
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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DrTom
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#19

Post by DrTom »

ChrisKochmanski wrote: Wed Jan 10, 2024 5:16 pm Cat out!

With a nudge.

Thanks, Doc!
Did you use an expert?
Cat help.jpg
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
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woozy
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#20

Post by woozy »

Well, three people I talked to over the weekend all agreed with something I wrote about this weekend. And this meta turns out to be a big counter-example. Meanwhile my cat left the bag after a person came in and let it out while I wasn't looking. The cat and I both agree we like seeing cute patterns and are really shocked when we find them unplanned for. The cat and I were talking about it when the rabbit popped out of a hole and said "Um,... you know, that's my department you are talking about, don't you?"

On a completely unrelated note the cat said "You really should get rid of that dog, you know" and I said "Let's just agree to talk about crosswords".
Funny story. I was all set to enter Par for the course for the CrossHare midi contest for April but I mistakenly thought midi meant 7x 7 and not 11 x 11. Oops. Well.... Here's a complex but **small** meta on the subject of golf.
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